Rail-bond.



S. P. HULL.

RAIL BOND.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 15,1911.

Patented July 2, 1912.

Inrueniar: 14 f. m

Wa'i'nwses: M-

SAMUEL .P. HULL, F DOBBS FERRY, NEW YORK.

RAIL-BOND.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 15, 1911.

. Patented July 2, 1912. Serial No. 638,601.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL P. HULL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dobbs Ferry, in the county of Westchester 5 and State of New York, have invented cer-' tain new and useful Improvements in Bail- Bonds, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof. 1

My invention relates to rail-bonds for forming a good electrical connection between the abutting ends of track rails, and relates particularly to such bonds in the art 15.of railway signaling. A common way. of effecting this bonding and one that on some roads has been made standard practice, is to employ a bond-wire which extends along at the outside of the fish plate, lying in the angle formed by the base and upright of the fish-plate, and having its ends firmly secured in apertures in the webs of the abutting rails beyond thefish-plate, by tapered channel pins driven through the webs of the rails. The bonds are placed at the outside of the fish-plates so that their integrity can be ascertained by inspection, and they are laid close to the upright parts of the fishplates to guard against accidental injury by workmen or otherwise. As a result of this practice a serious objection has developed.-

The rolling stock in passing over the track depresses the rails at intervals and causes them to rise at intermediate points, so that undulatory movements in vertical planes take place, called snaking. The snaking slightly draws the spikes so that it is commom for the heads of the spikes to be raised a sufficient distance above the bases of the fish-plates to permit the bond-wires to enter between the s ike-heads and the bases of the fish-plates. s is well known, temperature changes in the rails produce expansion and contraction, and expansion causes the ends of the rails to approach each other. When this occurs, the bond-wires are bowed or arched outward and move under the raised spike-heads. Then when snaking of the rails takes place the bonds are caught by the SOs ike-heads and sheared off and broken.

A broad object of my invention is to obviate injury to the bonds by the spike-heads, as above described, and. a more particular object is to prevent. the outward bowing of the bonds, by reason of which they are moved-under the spike-heads.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will hereinafter appear.

The present invention includes a rail-bond having comparatively great stiffness or resistance to bending in lts intermediate part or body, to effectively resist tendency to bowing, and having' comparatively great flexibility or yieldability in parts in proximity to its ends, to provide for the relative llplngitudinal shifting of the abutting ends of e rails to which the ends of the bond are secured.

My present invention more particularly includes a rail-bond of different cross-sectional shape in different parts so as to thereby secure the desired rigidity or stiltness in the body part and the desired flexibility or yieldability in the end parts.

My present invention yet more particularly includes arail-bond in which the body or intermediate part is longitudinally creased or of bent cross-section, such as of a V-shape in cross-section, and in which the end parts have therein a series of longitudinal bends, such as a series of transverse corrugations.

My invention further includes other features of construction and combinations of parts, as will appear from the following description.

I shall now describe the rail-bonds illustrated in the accompanying drawings and embodying my invention and shall thereafter point out my invention in claims.

Figure 1 is a plan view, partly in horizontal section on a plane through the bond-attaching pins, of a bonded rail joint embody ing my invention. Fi 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section on a vertical plane indicated by the lines 3-3 of Figs. 1 and 2 as viewed from the right. Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse section of the intermediate part or body of the bond. Fig. 5 is an enlarged horizontal section of the end of a. fish-plate and a modified rail-bond. Fig. 6 is a similar view of another modification of rail-bond. Fig. 7 is a front elevation of what is shown in Fig. 6.

The rail-bond illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, is made from a flat strip or ribbon of suitable sheet metal, for example, galvanized iron, such strip being bent or formed as now to be described to provide a stiffened intermediate part or body'1, flexible -end parts 2, and anchoring extremities The body or intermediate part 1 of the bond is of angular cross-section, shown as V-shaped. This intermediate part is longitudinally straight and lies upon the base of the fishplate 4 close to the upright part of the fishplate in'the angle formed by the upright part and the base and below the nuts 5 of the usual standard track bolts 6, and inward from the'heads of the standard track spikes 7, the heads of which are shown as some-- what raised above the base of the fish-plate, as is their usual condition. The flexible end parts 2 are of flat cross-section, as shown, and these parts have therein, as also shown, a series of transverse corrugations, successively arranged longitudinally, to impart comparatively great flexibility to these parts. The corrugated parts 2 extend on an upward curve-above the straight body or intermediate part 1, thereby providing for the attachment of the ends of the bond to the webs of the rails at the usual points about midway of the height of the rails andv adding to the flexibility of the corrugated ends of the bonds.

Beyond the curved corrugated flexible end parts 2 the bond terminates in anchoring extremities 3- which project inward from the parts 2 and are transversely curved to a substantially semi-circularcrescent shape to fit into the usual round bond-receiving apertures in the webs of the rails 8 where they are firmly held by tapered anchor pins 9 driven from the inner sides of the rails.

As the ends of the rails 8 approach to and recede from each other, thereby altering the distance between the anchor pins 9, such shifting movement will'be taken up by the highly flexible end parts 2 of the bonds,

and when the shifting of the rails brings the anchor pins 9 closer together, the body or intermediate part 1 of the bond, because of its stiflness, will remain straight'and will not bow outward toward the heads of the spikes 7, but thethrust will all be taken up by the highly flexible corrugated end parts 2.

In the modified bond illustrated in Fig. 5, in addition to the transversely \l-shaped stifiened body 10 (similar to the body 1)v and the corrugated flexible end parts 11 (similar to the end parts 2), there is in the bond at the beginning of the flexible corrugated part a slight reverse bend 12 which hooks over and behind the end of the usual fish-plate 4, in the usual space between the rail and the fish-plate. One end only of the bond and of the fish-plate are shown in 5, but it is understood that eachend of the bond is provided with the bend 12 for hooking over the end of the fish-plate at. In this modified construction, the straight stiffened body 10 is somewhat shorter than the body 1, so as to bring the bends 12, which constiat the end thereof shown in Fig. 5. The hooks or bends such as 12, constitute anchoring connections with the fish-plate 4 so that the fish-plate will resist any tendency both these respects,these hooks or bends constitute additional means which supplement tel-mediate part or body 10 of the bond from getting under the raised heads of the traqk I spikes 7.

The modified bond illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 is made of wire, instead of a strip of sheet metal, and has a stifl straight intermediate part or body 13 of circular crosssection and corrugated flexible end parts 14 (of which one only is shown) of flat crosssection. This bond, like that shown at Fig. 5,has, at the beginning of the fiat corrugated part It, a reverse bend 15 forming a, hook engaging the end of the usual fish-plate at, in the space between the rail and-the fish-plate. The operation is similar to that described in reference to Fig. '5.

In the modified constructions illustrated in Fig. 5 andin Figs. 6 and 7, the attachment of the ends of the bonds to the rails may be the same as in the first described construction, illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive.

Theconstruction partly shown in Fig. 5 and above described embodies all features of -my invention claimed herein, and in addition thereto, in its means for engaging the fish-plate, embodies an invention claimed in another application filed by me simultaneously herewith under Serial Number 638,602. The construction shown in Figs. 6 and 7 embodies the invention broadly claimed herein, but also-contains said additional feature of said companion application, and in" its entirety is also speci cally claimed in said companion application. It is obvious that various other modifications may be made in .the constructions shown in the drawings and above particularlydescribed within the principle and scope of my. invention.

I claim: r 1. A rail-bond having a cross-sectional shape of the bond forming material in'.

proximity to the ends of the bond to impart fiexibilityand having a diflerent cross-sectional shape of the bond forming material in the body of the bond between the flexible end parts thereof to impart stiffness, so that such intermediate part of the bond willbe stiffer than the flexible end parts to resist tendency to bowing.

2. A rail-bond having greater .stifi'ness in cross-section of the bond forming material at the intermediate part of the bond as com- 75 the stifiened body 10 in preventing the in pared with parts in proximity to the ends of the bond, the ends being adapted for anchoring to abutting rails, whereby bowing of the intermediate part ofthe bond by reason of longitudinal shifting of the rails is prevented by reason of its greater stiflness.

3. A rail-bond comprising a metal-ribbon and having its intermediate part of bent cross-section to impart longitudinal stiffness for resisting bowing of the bond.

4. A rail-bond comprising a metal ribbon and having in proximity to its ends a series of longitudinal bends to impart flexibility, and havin the body thereof intermediate of the flexible end parts of bent cross-section to impart longitudinal stiflness' for resisting bowing of the bond.

5. A rail-bond comprising a metal ribbon and having in proximity to its ends a longitudinal series of transverse corrugations to impart flexibility, and having the body thereof intermediate of the flexible end parts of V-shaped cross-section to impart longilt)udinal stiffness for resisting bowing of the ond.

6. A rail-bond com rising a metal ribbon and having a straig t intermediate body part of V-shape cross-section to impart stiffness against bowing, and outwardly from such intermediate part and in proximity to the ends having end parts which are corrugated to impart flexibility, these corrugated parts being bowed upwardly, and the bond having anchor extremities beyond the corrugated parts adapted for anchoring to abutting rails.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL P. HULL.

Witnesses:

WM. ASHLEY KELLY, BERNARD COWEN. 

